Entrepreneurial ecosystem and start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa: Empirical evidence based on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor database

Objective: The aim of the study is to examine the nexus between entrepreneurial ecosystem and nascent entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa. Research Design & Methods: The study employed a quantitative methodology and consequently, the variables and data were drawn from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey ranging from 2004-2019. The sample observations of the study were eight countries across sub-Saharan Africa. The country-level data were analyzed through the application of least square regression to determine the nexus between the financing environment, government support policy, physical and service infrastructure and entrepreneurial start-ups. Findings: The study findings demonstrate that entrepreneurial financing had positive effect on nascent entrepreneurship; government support policy had positive effect on entrepreneurial start-ups; infrastructure had positive effect on early entrepreneurial activity. Implications & Recommendations: The paper recommends that there should be a renewed commitment on the part of governments to support and initiate intervention programmes to build entrepreneurial ecosystem and promote entrepreneurial activity but such programme design and implementation should look into contextual specifics and consider the COVID-19 related factors. Contribution & Value Added: In this paper, we have offered significant contribution to the existing body of scholarship in small business management and entrepreneurship from the prisms of global health emergency and that building a friendly entrepreneurial ecosystem stimulates prevalence and sustainability of nascent entrepreneurship in countries.